Forget Me Not
by AWolfAmongSwans
Summary: Post 1x22. An anonymous tip down at the station leads Emma back to someone she never expected to see again, Graham. But there's one problem, Graham doesn't remember his life in Storybrooke or who Emma even is for that matter. Are his memories truly gone for good or is there a way to bring them back?


"Emma!" Ruby called from the desk, as Emma made her way into the station. "You just got an anonymous call about someone spotting something peculiar in the woods." Every now and again Ruby would ask Emma if she could come down to the station when she felt she needed a break from the diner. Considering how helpful she was, Emma didn't really mind it.

"What did they spot?" She asked raising an eyebrow. "They wouldn't say." Ruby told her, with a slight shrug. Emma rolled her eyes in annoyance. "This better not be one of those stupid pranks again." Ever since that purple smoked rolled in to town she was getting a lot of those lately. Pulling her keys out of her pocket she went back outside to check out the tip.

Getting into her police cruiser, she drives down to the woods. Parking the car on the side of the road, she makes her way down the slope into the forest. She's got no idea what she's supposed to be looking for, but if it's peculiar it shouldn't be too hard to find. It's then out of the corner of her eye that she spots something.

Emma finds a form slumped over, lying face down on the ground. As she gets closer she notices that the figure is male, and that his clothing is rather odd. From looks of it he's wearing some type of fur and leather.

Kneeling down beside him, she gave him a slight tap. "Hey are you alright?" Not getting a response at first, she flips the man over onto his back. When she sees his face she let's out a gasp. Freezing up, she stares down at him wide-eyed, for whom she sees is none of than Graham.

She starts shaking him desperately, calling out his name. "Graham! Come on Graham!" This feels like that night in the office all over again. That panic, and desperation comes back to her all at once. This time however, he wakes up.

His eyes open slowly, blinking as they try to regain focus. He let's out a small groan as he comes to. A relieved smile crosses her face at the sight of his waking form. "Graham, thank goodness you're alright."

Blankly staring up at her, he asks "Who are you?"

"What?"

~~~~~~oooo~~~~~~~~

Snow makes her way inside the hospital to find Emma pacing back and forth as Dr. Whale is examining Graham. There's been so much commotion these past few days Emma hasn't had time to figure out which fairytale character Dr. Whale is yet. But she does know he's severed his ties with Regina so it was safe to bring Graham here.

"I came as soon as I got your message." She tells her, slightly out of breath. "Is it really true?" Emma nods, gesturing towards Graham. "I've got no idea how it happened but it's really him."

"How is he?" Snow asks. "I think he might have amnesia or something. He doesn't recognize me or the name Graham for that matter." Pausing a moment, Emma then adds with a smile, "But he's alive." Aside from Henry, Snow never sees Emma smile like that about anyone.

Dr. Whale makes his way over to the two of them after finishing his examination of Graham. Emma turns to face him, ready to hear what he has to say. "Well, he doesn't seem to have amnesia."

"What do you mean he doesn't have amnesia?" The annoyance in her voice increases with each word out of her mouth. "He doesn't remember who he is or anyone else for that matter, I'm pretty sure that's the definition of amnesia." She crosses her arm and stares at him sharply.

Dr. Whale shakes his head, "That's the thing, he _does_ remember who he is. Just not who he was_ here_." Emma's body suddenly stiffens and she can tell he isn't done. "It's quite possible that because he died while the curse on the town was still affect, that he lost his memories of his life here."

Her blood runs cold and she can feel herself getting lightheaded. She has to hold on to a nearby wall just to keep her balance. _'He doesn't remember anything from Storybrooke?' _Which meant he didn't remember her. Tears start prickling at her eyes and she bites her lip to keep them at bay.

It's then that the doctor's voice pulls her out of her stupor.

"But he does seem to be suffering from a bit of dehydration, so we are going to have to keep him here a bit." He states simply. "You can see him now if you like." And with that, Dr. Whale then proceeds to attend to some other hospital business.

Emma takes a deep breath, trying to keep her composure. She and her mother make their way over to where Graham is. Watching them approach, a mildly confused look crosses his face as he notices Snow. "Snow, is that you?"

Emma turns toward her mother wide eyed "He remembers _you_?" She asks mildly offended. Snow pulls her towards her and whispers "He called me Snow, not Mary Margaret. So he remembers me from Fairytale Land."

"Right, sorry." The news has left Emma a bit on edge and her emotions running pretty high. Her thinking isn't as clear as it usually is. She never did learn Graham's fairytale counterpart, so she isn't exactly sure who he knows or how he knows them.

Snow makes her way a bit closer, so that he can see her better. "Yes it is. It's good to see you're doing well." She tells him cheerfully. Emma's always admired her ability to stay calm in a crisis.

"So, how do you know Miss Swan?" He asks Snow. Emma cringes every time he calls her 'Miss Swan', likes she's just some stranger to him, as if they have never even met.

"Actually, Emma is my-" "Roommate." Emma cuts in. "Just her roommate." She reiterates. Him knowing that she was Snow's daughter would only make things more awkward. Her mother gave her an understanding look.

It's then that James finally enters the building. He and Snow had driven there together, but he was out parking the car. As he spots his wife and daughter, he makes his way over to them.

Graham notices, and recognizes him as well. James was a bit easier to recognize, unlike Snow because of her different haircut. "I knew if Snow was here you wouldn't be far off James."

Charming was slightly puzzled at first, but with just one look from his wife he was basically filled in on the matter. He nods. "It's good to see you again Huntsman."

_'Huntsman?' _It's then Emma's mind starts racing, digging into the depths of her memories as child to the fairy tales she had heard. She could only recall a Huntsman character in one story, and that was Snow White's.

Though Emma knew the stories she had grown up hearing weren't exactly accurate, they did hold some truth to them. There was one thing she did remember for certain, and that was that the Huntsman had spared the life of Snow White. Which meant that Graham had spared her mother.

But what had happened to him after that? She could never remember that part of the story. He brought back a fake heart for the Queen didn't he? Surely Regina wasn't happy about him not doing what she wanted. But what then?

Emma struggles to put the pieces together when suddenly she remembers something, _'It's my heart Emma, I need to find it.' _Her eyes go wide. Graham kept saying he didn't have a heart, could it be that Regina had taken his for not bringing her mother's? That was impossible… right?

Her mind was spinning, this on top of everything else was too much.

"I need some air." Emma declares brushing past her parents and the rest of the staff. Snow goes to follow her but Charming grabs her arm to stop her, "Give her some time. She's strong." Sighing she decides to leave her be for now.

Instead of going outside, Emma turns into the nearest broom closet. Shutting the door and locking it behind her, she leans against it, sliding her back down it until she reaches the floor.

She buries her face into the palms of her hands and lets out a sigh. _'This can't be happening.' _He was back and he was alive, but she was nobody to him. A fake memory he was never supposed to have. Yes technically his life in Storybrooke was a lie, but at the same time it wasn't. Because what they had was real.

At least when she thought he had amnesia it meant that maybe he'd eventually remember. But this wasn't as simple as that. The sob she had been trying to suppress finally makes its way out of her throat. Quiet tears stream down her face. The sound of her teardrops hitting the floor is the only thing she hears.

After a few minutes she pulls herself together, wiping away her tears with the sleeve of her jacket. Taking in a deep breath she brushes herself off and stands up. She hesitates a moment before turning the door handle, but then finally reaches for it.

As she opens the door she finds Grumpy there with that usual scowl on his face. He goes to make a snide remark, but upon noticing her tear stained face decides against it. The man spares a brief sympathetic look before returning to his custodial duties.

Emma finds Snow standing near the entrance of the building. "I have to get back to work. Are you going to be okay here? I can call out if you need me to." Emma shakes her head, "I'll be fine. Go back to work and teach some kids." She answers awkwardly, trying to hold up a strong facade.

Snow puts her hand on her daughter's arm for a moment. "It'll be okay." She tells her sincerely. "Yeah…" Emma answers, traces of defeat filling her tone. Snow gives a small wave goodbye as James holds open the door for her as they both leave.

Before heading back over to where he is, she watches Graham, or the Huntsman apparently, from a distance. She never thought she'd see that scruffy face or those curly brown locks ever again. Taking in yet another deep breath, she walks over to his bed.

"Don't feel like you have to stay Sheriff. Surely you have more important things to deal with than me." It just feels ironic for _him_ to call _her _Sheriff. Usually this would be a set up for one of his goofy jokes he was so well known to make.

Even if Emma did have more important things to deal with, she genuinely didn't care at the moment. Ruby had things covered down at the station anyway. If there was ever a moment where Emma felt like she could be a little selfish, this was it.

She takes a seat in the chair beside his bed. "I've got some time." They both sit there quietly for a few minutes, but to her it feels like hours. She's got to say something.

"I wasn't always Sheriff." Emma admits, trying to keep a conversation between them. As soon as she says that, part of her regrets it. Is she really going to have this conversation with him, why would she even bring that up? Maybe part of her hopes it might magically jog his memory some how, despite what Dr. Whale says.

None the less, Graham raises an intrigued eyebrow at the statement. "You weren't?" She shakes her head. "Nope. I took over for the previous one."

"What happened to him?" He asks. Emma locks up for a moment. _'Of course he would ask that question, any person would after what you just said.' _

Emma stammers as she tries to answer, "He… um. He…" Graham doesn't need her to go any further to realize where she's going with this. "I'm sorry." he says softly. He's got no idea he's actually consoling her about what happened to him.

"He was a really good guy. The man put his neck on the line to help a lot of people, including me. He offered me a job when I needed one, even though he knew his boss wouldn't like it. I always appreciated that."

She feels a bit weird, talking to him about himself. But it's her way of thanking him, even if he doesn't know it. She never had the chance to do it before when he was alive.

Emma looks down and realizes she has unconsciously been stroking the top of Graham's hand with her thumb.

She pulls back, rather embarrassed. How long had she been doing that for, she hadn't even realized.

He must think she's a total freak or some kind of perv, being all touchy with him. None the less he still has that friendly look on his face that isn't judging her, even despite the fact that he doesn't remember her.

"Sorry." Emma mutters avoiding eye contact with him. Pushing herself up off of the chair, she stands up. "I should probably get going." She says as she readjusts her red leather jacket.

"I'll check up on you tomorrow to see how your doing." Emma's already mid walk when she tells him that.

"Thank you." He calls out to her. She turns to look back at him when he says that. Those were the last words he told her that night, hearing him say them again puts her stomach in knots. If she doesn't leave now she'll fall apart.

"Don't mention it." Emma tries to tell him casually as she turns away from him and back towards the entrance. Her steps are quick and she leaves in a haste.

Graham lays there, just thinking. Sometimes he gets the feeling like he knows her. She reminds him of Snow, but there's also something else. He can't place what it is though. At times, he even notices his finger tips tingle some, having the strange urge to run them through her golden locks.

He finds that he enjoys being around her for some strange reason. He's never really enjoyed the company of other people before, but her presence is oddly comforting to him. Surprisingly, he's sad to see her go.

~~~~~~oooo~~~~~~~~

"How are you holding up?" Her mother asks Emma as she hands a cup of hot cocoa to her. Emma graciously takes it from her and has a sip. The warm chocolate seeps in to her stomach as the flavor of cinnamon tickles at her throat. "I've been better." She states blandly.

"Don't give up hope!" Henry chimes in from the kitchen stool. The blonde gives a fake smile at his optimism, but her smile doesn't fool anyone. "There always true loves kiss." He adds.

Emma gave an incredulous laugh, "Sure." The notion sent a familiar voice echoing through her mind._ 'I remember.' _She tried to shake that thought from her head. What did he mean by that anyway?

Emma let out a breath as she looked over at him. "Kid, I know it worked in waking you up, but I'm not sure true love's kiss can solve every problem. Especially this one." A part of Emma wanted to believe it would, but the ever present cynical side of her made her think otherwise.

"It worked with me and Charming." Snow tells her. "Once I took a magical potion that made me forget about James. But even still, his kiss restored my memories of him."

"But there was a catch." Charming informed her. Emma gives an exasperated sigh, "There always is."

"The first time I kissed your mother after she took the potion it didn't work, because she didn't remember the feelings she had for me. But when I took an arrow to prevent her from losing herself to the darkness, it was then our kiss made her remember." Snow and Charming exchanged a loving look as they recalled that moment from long ago.

"So I have to… what, let him shoot me with an arrow like cupid?" Emma said sarcastically. She knew they were only trying to help, but the situation just left her so frustrated.

James shakes his head. "No, but you have to find a way to remind that person of how they felt for you." Emma still wasn't sure what Graham saw in her in the first place, what were the chances of him seeing it in her again.

"Emma you must always remember, true love isn't easy but it must be fought for." The fierce determination in his eyes show that he truly believes in what he says. Her parents really were the epitome of true love.

The transition from acquaintance to parent with James hasn't been as smooth as it was with Snow. Back when she was just her best friend Mary Margaret, the two had such a close enough friendship that they practically felt like family. When they learned they were related the shift wasn't that huge of a stretch. Emma's still far from being used to it thought, but she's getting there.

"Okay can we please stop talking about my love life or whatever it is!" She's never liked being the center of attention, especially when it came to her personal life. "I appreciate the advice but this is something I have to deal with on my own."

The three of them nod, sensing she needs a break. They change to the subject to something else, though honestly Emma had no idea what they had changed it to. Despite them having dropped the matter, it still laid heavily on her mind.

That night, when everyone had gone to sleep, Emma pulls out Henry's book and takes it into her bedroom. As she sits on her bed, she places the book on her lap and flips through the pages looking for Graham's story, for The Huntsman's story.

She finds it relatively quickly. There's even a drawing of him, it brings a bittersweet smile to her face. She read about how his parents had abandoned him and that he was raised by wolves. That he had spared her mother's life at the cost of his own heart and it even turned out that he had helped her father escape the Evil Queens castle too.

Emma never had any idea how connected two of them were. Without him, she probably wouldn't even exist.

For the first time in her life Emma had actually picked a good guy, though she felt good was actually kind of an understatement in this case. Now more than ever she desperately wanted him to remember, actually she _needed _him to remember.

~~~~~~oooo~~~~~~~~

"Hello Miss Swan." Graham says rather cheerfully as he saw Emma approach, the next morning. He was already up and sitting on the edge of his bed when she arrived.

"Gr-… Huntsman." She wasn't sure she'd ever get used to calling him that. "How are you feeling today?"

"Much better. The doctor's said it would be good for me if I got a little air and I was thinking since you know this town so well you might come for a walk with me. If you'd like to of course." For a moment, Emma wonders if his accent has some how gotten thicker or maybe it's just been so long since she last heard it. Either way the sound pleases her ears.

"Sure. I just have to go grab something at my office, then we can go." It's kind of hard for her to be around him, because even though she wants to be, she finds that it hurts when she is. But Emma still does it anyway, because she thought she'd never have the chance to see him again and now that she does, she won't waste it.

As they enter the station she rearranges some papers on her desk as he looks around, absorbing the room. Emma grabs the keys to her car out of the drawer for when she'll need them later. "Alright, got what I need. Ready?"

When he doesn't answer, she looks up to find him staring at the coat rack in the corner of the room. He's staring at the jacket hanging on it, _his _jacket.

"That jacket…" Graham says trailing off some.

Emma's breath catches in her throat and for a moment a feeling of excitement fills her chest. Could he possibly be remembering?

"What about it? She asks him, trying to hide the hopefulness in her voice.

Graham pauses a moment before answering, still staring at the article of clothing. He goes to open his mouth as if to say something, but then shakes his head. "It's nothing."

Her heart sinks in disappointment. It was pointless to get her hopes up, she should know better. Glancing over at the jacket for a moment, she thinks of something.

"It's kinda of cold out this morning, you can use that jacket if you want." Emma takes it off the coat rack and hands it to him. He takes it from her and rubs the leather between his callused fingers, feeling the material of it.

Graham then slips his arms into the sleeves of the worn black leather jacket. He's surprised to find it fits like a glove, as if it was made for him.

How she's missed seeing that jacket on him. For that brief moment, it's almost as if he never died and that it was just another day at work. Back when he was sheriff and she was his deputy.

"Would you mind if we took a walk through the woods?" He asks her as they leave the station.

Now that she's read his story, a lot of things make more sense. Like that time he told her, "This is my world." when they were searching the forest. At the time she didn't know what he meant, now she does. Emma understands his attachment to the woods, after all it was his home growing up.

"That's fine." She tells him with a slight nod.

The two head into the woods and there's a comfortable silence between them for awhile as they walk. The various nature sounds of the forest fill the quiet void.

"You're very kind Miss Swan." He mentions suddenly, catching her off guard. She stares at him rather confused. "Huh?"

"I mean, you don't even know me and yet you've been helping me this entire time. People usually aren't that kind." _'If only he really knew.' _She thought to herself. The funny thing was, he had basically done that for her when she arrived in town. Graham was one of the few people who helped her out back when she was just that blonde haired woman who had rolled into Storybrooke.

"I'm just doing my job." Emma says, giving a fake excuse. He chuckled slightly. "I don't believe that, but whatever you say."

She starts to zone out a bit after that, letting her thoughts get the better of her. So much so that she didn't even notice he was suddenly trailing behind. Emma turns around to find him bending down and grabbing something. He shifts his hands behind him as he stands back up and catches up with her.

"For you." He says with a smile. It's a small delicate blue flower.

Graham holds out the flower so she can see it, and Emma swallows hard. She doesn't fancy herself a flower expert, especially given the fact guys have rarely ever given them to her, but she knows exactly what type of flower it is. A Forget Me Not.

Emma couldn't help but wonder if the universe was just messing with her at this point. Was it having fun with the sheer irony of this? Do Forget Me Not's even grown in Maine? Despite all of that, she found the gesture extremely sweet.

He takes the flower and tucks it gently behind her ear, his fingers graze her cheek as he does so. Emma does her best to fight off the blush threatening to creep its way into her cheeks at the feel of his touch.

"Thanks." There's a tiny hint of shyness in her voice as she says it, with a genuine smile on her face. She doesn't know how he does it, but Graham can still make her feel the way no other guy has ever made her feel before.

They continue walking again when her foot catches on a tree branch, causing her to stumble, but in a matter of seconds she finds a pair of strong hands helping steady her. Breathing hard, it takes her a minute to catch her breath. She looks up at him and their eyes meet.

Their faces were barely inches apart, she could feel his breath against her skin. The urge to kiss him is ridiculously strong, but she knows she shouldn't. Without his memories she's just some cop who found him in the woods, nothing more. However the sound of her racing heart drowns out the logic and she leans up and presses her lips firmly into his anyway.

He's tense at first but it then seems to dissipate, and for a moment, she even swears that he's really kissing her back. When she finally pulls away, she looks down. "I'm sorry, I need to go." Emma turns away from him and quickly starts trying to run.

"Emma wait!" Reaching out his hand, he grabs her wrist. She pauses before slowly turning around to face him. "You called me Emma." The past two days he had only been calling her either Miss Swan or Sheriff, but never just as Emma.

She hesitates asking, but she has to know. "Does that mean that you…"

"I remember." Graham says with that familiar smile she knew all to well.

All those walls she had to rebuild after she lost him come falling down in an instant. Emma throws her arms around him as if holding on to him for dear life. She buries her face into his chest, her eyes filling up with tears of happiness and relief. "I was so afraid you'd never remember."

Graham rubs her back in a soothing manner while pulling her closer to him. "Emma, I could never truly forget you. Once someone makes you feel the way you made me feel, that's something you can _never _forget." The sound of his voice buzzes in her ear and he can feel her smile against him.

Emma's never needed a man like this before. She's always been so careful when it comes to getting close to people, but somehow he managed to break all the rules. Him and his corny jokes and those stupid puppy dog eyes of his. She lost a bit of herself the night she lost him.

"I'm so happy your back."

"I'm happy to be back." He answers, kissing her lightly on top of the head.

Pulling back some, she looks up at him. "But how are you here? How are you alive?"

He shakes his head, a bit uncertain himself. "After I died, I woke up in the Enchanted Forest of Fairytale Land, all alone. There was nobody there besides the animals. Then one day while I was out walking, a strange purple smoke covered the entire forest. The next thing I knew I wound up here, back in Storybrooke."

Graham took Emma's face and cupped it in his hands, "Even though I didn't have my memories of Storybrooke, I kept getting this feeling like I had to get back to something, something important. It was you Emma. You were the one I needed to get back to."

His eyes were brimming with such endearment as he looked at her. She couldn't help but smile widely at his sweet sentiments. Leaning down, he pulls her into a tender kiss.

It felt as if they had picked up where they last left off that night in the office. Graham found it such a pleasure to finally have a kiss with Emma that didn't include those pesky memory flashes interrupting it.

They finally pull apart only when they need some air. Slightly out of breath, Emma tells him, "We should probably be getting back to town now." Graham chuckles, then nodded. "Probably." She smiled up at him, as he slipped his arm around her shoulder.

"So, run over anymore signs while I've been away?" Graham teasingly joked as they walked back to town. "Actually I did. I ran over one after Sydney Glass cut my breaks." He practically does a double take, "Wait what?" A puzzled and concerned look washes over his face.

Emma lets out a laugh. "I'm fine, don't worry. But I have a lot that I have to catch you up on. Luckily for us, we have plenty of time to do that."

~~~~~~oooo~~~~~~~~

As the two made their way into town arm in arm, they passed Mr. Gold's Pawn Shop on the way. Rumpelstiltskin watched them walk by from his shop window and Belle then stood next to him.

"Did you know bringing back magic would also bring him back to Storybrooke?" Belle asked him curiously. "Of course my dear, that's why I was so pushy in making her keep his jacket. The same reason I was the one who tipped off the station of his location." The man stated simply.

"Why?" She asked.

"Because it never hurts to have some powerful true love around, for it can be quite useful on a rainy day."

Luckily for Emma and Graham, there never came a day where Rumple needed to use that love of their's.

Once Graham was released from the hospital Emma took him home, where her family happily greeted the Huntsman with his newly returned memories. Henry repeatedly said to Emma that he told her so about true love's kiss working. She didn't mind it though, no matter how many times he kept repeating it, she was far to happy he was right yet again about this. The kid had the right to gloat some.

After all the excitement had settled down, Emma wrapped her arms around Graham's neck. "So I guess you'll have to stay here since Gold already rented out your apartment." He chuckled. "I guess so." Emma looked around the apartment, "It's gonna be a little cramped with the five of us, but I think as a family we can make it work."

"I've never really had one of those before, at least not with people anyway." Graham confessed awkwardly.

"Me neither. Guess that's something we'll have to get used to together." She said with a smile.


End file.
